The Very Root of the Problem
by Daelena
Summary: A direct follow-up of "Never To Say Goodbye," Ianto tracks down who sent the mercenaries and gives them a piece of his mind. Ianto/Jack. Gwen bashing. Sixteenth the "Immortal Janto" series.


The Very Root of the Problem

_Disclaimer__: Yep, I do not own anything._

_Summary__: A direct follow-up of "Never To Say Goodbye," Ianto tracks down who sent the mercenaries and gives them a piece of his mind. Ianto/Jack. Gwen bashing. Part of the "Immortal Janto" series._

_There was a mention of a greater problem mentioned in "Never To Say Goodbye" that will be resolved here. Besides, who doesn't love the action of the TARDIS crew? Besides, sometimes all you need is a furious Ianto to put people in their place._

_So, read and enjoy this!_

The door slammed loudly and dramatically, echoing through the room and alerting the occupants of the room to his arrival. His coat flapped around him, added an extra quality to the danger of the moment.

Ianto Jones stalked into the room, his face filled with the deepest of fury. Anger clouded his eyes as he fixed his attention on one person. Ianto didn't need theatrics to get his point across, to make people pay attention to him. All he needed was a well-pressed suit, his trench coat, and the proper amount of motivation.

Lucky for him, he had all three things.

"Why?" His voice was clipped as he spat out that question. "Why did you do it?"

The wide, dark eyes that were staring back at him were filled with fear. Ianto didn't pause to feel any sympathy for Gwen at the moment as he stalked right up to her and stopped, their faces mere inches from one another.

"Ianto, I don't understand what you're talking about!"

He exhaled roughly through his nose. "Yes, you do, Gwen. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Ianto reached into his coat and, from an inside pocket, pulled out a thin folder. He thrust it into Gwen's unexpected hands. He stepped back and watched, anger still boiling high, as she opened it, flipping through the carefully chosen contents. She gasped in surprise.

"I didn't do any of this, Ianto. You have to believe me!" she exclaimed, looking back up at Ianto, her eyes wide and seemingly innocent. "I would never cause Jack any harm."

"But me?" he questioned, his tone chillingly even, hiding his anger - barely. "You are perfectly fine with causing me pain, even if it means causing a little bloodshed on Jack's part. You were fine with testing to see if what I was saying was true about the fact that I can't die."

Gwen stepped back, her eyes fearful of him. "You mean, it's true?"

"That I can't die? Of course! Pay attention." He gestured to his hair. "I didn't put those streaks there for nothing." She gulped. "And I wouldn't damage my favorite waistcoat for nothing."

She looked wildly at him. "Ianto, I didn't know that any of this would happen, I swear it." Ianto gave her a furious look.

"So you knew about this then?"

Cautiously, she nodded. "Someone approached me about your apparent immortality and they asked me questions about you and Jack. I told them where to find you, what you two might be doing, and when might be a good time to get in contact with you. I didn't know that they would do anything other than talk to you."

She honestly believed what she was saying, Ianto noted, but that didn't excuse anything.

"We trusted you, Gwen, to keep our secret, to let us live our lives as peacefully as possible. We thought that you heard what Jack said the first time." The memories were fresh in his mind and Ianto felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes as he thought about Jack's death. "Was it enough that Jack had to die? Or that I almost died again?"

"Ianto, I didn't _know_." Her voice was pleading now.

He was angry, no questions about it.

"Then stop trying to mess with our lives, Gwen. We're happy." Ianto gritted his teeth. "Because of your actions, I made a promise to Jack that I would never say goodbye, because goodbye is too hard for either one of us." He clenched his hands into fists. "Jack's been having nightmares ever since, Gwen, because he's afraid of losing me, losing everything that we have together. Do you know what it's like, to have your husband screaming next to you at night, in a sweat, and the only thing that you can do to help them is to hold them? You almost made me lose Jack, Gwen, and that is not acceptable."

She was shaking, under his gaze.

"Ianto, I am so sorry."

He exhaled and turned. Ianto didn't want to be in the same room as this woman right now. To be perfectly honest, it would be a long time before either he or Jack could be in a room alone with her ever again, even if the twins and Anwen were beloved playmates of one another now. He couldn't look at her without feeling that betrayal.

"Save your apologies."

With that, Ianto Jones walked out of Gwen Williams' house.

At the end of the walk, standing on the other side of the gate, Jack Harkness was waiting for his husband with a sad look upon his face.

"You should have waited for me, Yan. I would have gone with you."

He shook his head as he went through the gate. "I didn't want to wake you, Jack. You only just started sleeping well enough as it was."

Jack hugged him, kissing the side of his head. "So you gave Gwen a piece of your mind?"

Ianto nodded. "She won't betray us ever again, if she's smart enough."

"Let's hope she is."

The unspoken other half of that sentence hung in the air. Ianto knew what Jack meant because the same thoughts were rushing through his mind. Cold anger was predominant on the TARDIS because of Gwen. The Doctor had made enough threats that even Donna couldn't cool him down. Both Ianto and Jack knew that, if Gwen ever pulled anything like what she did to them again, she would never be able to survive the encounter.

But they weren't going to talk about that right now.

Instead, Jack took Ianto's hand and, together, they began to walk down the country road. They still had time until Rhys brought the twins back and Donna had gotten the TARDIS to fly her and the Doctor off to a secret location to help the Doctor cool his anger.

So, for now, Ianto and Jack could just walk, could simply enjoy each other's company.

_So what do you think? Good? A bit heavy on the anti-Gwen, but there are times that we need to have that._


End file.
